


the girl with the boss tattoo

by wonderwall_mp4



Series: watch me while i bloom [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/F, Other, RuLiv, baysha, i wouldn’t tag them if there wasn’t content, it’s mainly baysha but ruliv are there a lot too i promise, livruby, nonbinary bayley, nonbinary liv
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29025369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderwall_mp4/pseuds/wonderwall_mp4
Summary: after discovering a hidden door in the back of their tattoo parlor, bayley discovers sasha’s flower shop- or rather, her freezer- and they begin a tumultuous friendship.
Relationships: Liv Morgan/Ruby Riot | Heidi Lovelace, Sasha Banks/Bayley | Davina Rose
Series: watch me while i bloom [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149686
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	the girl with the boss tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god it’s finally here. thanks to my gc on twitter for hyping me up and basically singlehandedly giving me the motivation to finish this chapter. i love yall. betsy i swear i’m writing you that baszliv fic, it’s just hard to read through the tears.
> 
> also liv is kind of a self-insert, if you can’t tell, but shhhh.
> 
> note: in this liv uses two sets of pronouns, she/her and they/them, so i alternate using them. sorry if this makes it a little confusing, but also i’m not because it’s a good way to learn about alternating pronouns!

If you asked Bayley why they wanted to be a tattoo artist, they would tell you. Well, first, they would roll their eyes, since they were asked that question almost every single day of their life during almost every tattoo session they’d ever had, and then they would tell you. At surface level, they had become a tattoo artist because they were an artist and liked to draw. But it went a little deeper than that. Despite the lack of romance otherwise in their life, Bayley was madly in love with, and happily married to, their job. The permanence, the history of tattoos… even tattoos that seemed silly on the surface had deeper meanings- an expression of freedom from a newly-turned 18 year old, an inside joke between lifelong friends, something simple to bring joy. And Bayley’s duty was to etch those memories for them. The customer trusted Bayley to make something beautiful and put it on their bodies permanently. It was a bond, a sacred duty. Something had drawn Bayley towards it since they had gotten their first tattoo at 19: an eye of Horus on the back of their neck.

It was a particularly dreary morning in the East Village, so Bayley’s shop, the Inkwell, wasn’t getting much business. No self-respecting person would get a tattoo at 10 AM on a Tuesday, and even the people without self-respect would probably show up in the early evening. For the time being, Bayley was sketching a new part of their wall mural and humming along to a punk pop song blaring from the speakers mounted on the walls. This section was going to be a huge dragon vomiting fire, curled around the already existent medieval castle perched on a cloud, which overlooked a fairy-tale city and a graveyard full of dancing Dia De Los Muertos skeletons (yes, Bayley was versatile that way. Most of the pictures on the wall were brainchildren of the drunk 2 AM rants of their best friend, Liv). They were just getting into the chorus, even adding in some dance moves, when they accidentally kicked over a cup of red paint and sent it spilling all over the pristine-ish floor.

“Shoot!” They dropped their pencil, scooped up the cup, and hastily began to mop the paint off the tarp. After they had sloughed most of it away, they left the rest to dry and went into the back room to try and find some more red. No red paint revealed itself from the shelves of half used paint cans and small, sticky bottles of ink, so Bayley resigned themself to digging into their boxes of extra supplies.

And there was the Door.

The Door was an ambiguous portal to another universe. The unassuming wood square hid the most amazing wonders and treasures. At least, Bayley assumed it did, as they’d never been through it.

About three months ago, when Bayley had first moved in, they were staggering with their boxes of ink and equipment into the back when they’d noticed a tear in the sheetrock and gave it a curious pull, revealing a corner of ornate wood. They had abandoned their stuff and set to unveiling the secret with a paint scraper they had bought to tear down the ugly wallpaper. Over the course of thirty minutes, they had uncovered a door made of juniper, a type of furniture wood Bayley knew from shop class. They spent about twelve additional minutes pacing back in forth in front of it, wondering if they should check what was behind it and perhaps risk meeting a hideous monster or seeing a secret sex dungeon or the entire wall caving in. But then, Liv and Ruby had blundered in with a bottle of champagne, looking for their friend, and Bayley kick-pushed the boxes up against the Door and decided to leave it for a later date. To be honest, they’d pretty much forgotten about it.

Until then. Now, mural completely abandoned, Bayley felt curiosity tug at them once again, the nagging excitement to unveil a mystery too tantalizing to resist. The Door gave a crack-puff of sheetrock as Bayley pulled it open, breaking the seal. A draft of musty air seemed to push dust directly up Bayley’s nostrils, and they coughed and wheezed, brushing the chalky grime from their inked-up arms and black tank top.

The hallway it led to was barely wider than the door itself, dark and unfinished. It looked like a giant had shoved a cookie cutter through the wall. Bayley turned their phone flashlight on and shone it down the hall, cautiously taking one step and then another step into the unknown. The floor was the same worn, knotty wood as the shop floor, the kind that Liv had likened to the floor of a haunted log cabin, and it creaked and squealed under Bayley’s thick-soled boots.

Bayley’s outstretched hand bumped into a solid surface, and they brought their light up to see a door almost identical to the one in their shop, except this one was made of lighter wood- maybe birch? Somewhere in the distance, there was a low buzz of chatter. People! There were people on the other side. Feeling tension tingle in their fingers, Bayley reached out and grasped the door handle. They turned it and gave it a solid push, but they felt no movement except for a low crack and rumble. The door must have been sheetrocked into the wall on the other side like it had been in Bayley’s shop. Bayley pushed harder and harder, determined, and suddenly it gave way. They yelped and stumbled through in a cloud of dust, hands meeting a different floor, one made of cold concrete.

The first thing that Bayley noticed was the smell. The air was fragrant, like fresh flowers, nothing like the stale must of the hall or the smoky, woody smell of the Inkwell. Then, the cold hit them. They were in some sort of storage room-slash-giant fridge, the walls pristine white, and the shelves were stocked with all sorts of flowers, arranged by type and color. It was like Bayley had stepped into a rainbow. Somewhere in the distance, an air conditioner hummed, and the talking had been silenced. As Bayley took in what they had tumbled into, the giant metal door swung open and a woman peeked in. She had long blue hair, glasses, and a “what the fuck?” expression on her strikingly beautiful face.

“Who are you and how did you get into my freezer?” she asked sharply. Bayley then realized they were staring.

They scrambled up, trying for a smile, as chipper as one could look after just bursting through a wall. “I’m Bayley!”

The woman didn’t even glance down at their proffered hand. “You’re covered in sheetrock.”

“Uh. Oops.” Bayley shook their head like a wet dog and a cloud of dust cropped up from their short black hair.

“Jesus,” coughed the woman, presumably the owner of whatever store or alternate universe Bayley had fallen into. Whoever she was, she was unamused. Bayley felt their heart sink at the possibility of a new friend slipping away.

“Sorry.” Bayley cocked a thumb behind them. “Hey, didja know that there’s a super-secret hidden passageway from my shop to yours?”

“Can’t say that I did.” She raised an eyebrow, then rolled her eyes, looking like she was about to regret whatever she was going to say. “Look, we’re letting all the cold out, so either come out here or I’ll lock you in.”

“Alright!” Bayley gave a little bounce-bounce. It looked like, maybe, they could get a friend from all this. One of Bayley’s favorite qualities about themself was their ability to make friends with nearly anyone. Some people were more difficult than others. But they had to be friends with this woman! Their shops were connected! It was like… fate, or something.

Bayley slipped out after her. A few customers stopped their shopping and stared, probably wondering where they’d come from. They glanced around and immediately recognized the store they were in. “Oh, this is the flower shop! I pass this every day on my way to work! I love the name.” Bayley grinned. “Banks’ Blooms. Has a great ring to it. Really unique. Is that your last name?”

The blue-haired woman suppressed a smile at that. “Yep.” She gestured at Bayley’s tattooed arms. “I’m going to hazard a guess and say you’re from the tattoo place.”

“You’re so smart! She’s so smart,” Bayley said to a passing customer. He looked at them oddly and shuffled off. They realized then that they were still covered in wall dust. 

The blue-haired woman turned to Bayley as they were self-consciously picking specks of dust from their shirt. “So why did you break into my freezer?

“Well,” Bayley backtracked. “That door’s been there ever since I moved in. But then I spilled paint on the floor, so I needed to get some more, and I moved the boxes and there it was! I forgot about it! And it was a slow day so I thought I’d check it out.”

“And that’s how a random woman ended up on my floor.”

“Not a woman,” Bayley corrected her cheerfully.

She looked confused, although no more confused than before. “Oh. A random man...?”

“Not one of those, either.” Bayley shrugged. “I actually creatively identify as a nuisance, so.”

She nodded with a small laugh, finally understanding. “Random person.” She glanced at the door. “Well, either way, it’s still considered breaking and entering. You could do time for that.”

Bayley let out a yelp. “Wait! No! Don’t have me arrested! Please! I’ll leave right now.” Bayley didn’t like to admit defeat, but then again no one had ever threatened to call the cops on them for trying to make friends.

The woman let out another laugh at Bayley’s sudden panic, surprising them. “Relax, I’m kidding.”

“Oh. Hah,” Bayley laughed along half-heartedly. “Well-”

“You should probably go, though.” She gestured around at her shop. “I’m working, so-” Her tone wasn’t unkind, but it wasn’t quite friendly either.

“Of course! Yeah, obviously,” stammered Bayley. “I’ll go. So sorry to bother you.”

The pretty woman waved Bayley off. “You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t know your weird door would bring you here.” 

“The door.” Bayley suddenly thought of the mess that they had created in the freezer. “Oh, no.”

She seemed to pick up what they were talking about. “It’s fine. I’ll clean it up whenever,” she said nonchalantly. 

Bayley wanted to argue, but she seemed adamant, so they turned to go before turning back as a thought struck them. “I didn’t catch your name-?”  
  
She sighed, not meanly. “I’m Sasha.”

“Sasha. Oh, that’s a nice name. I like it a lot. I-” Sasha made a shooing motion. “Yep, going,” Bayley said quickly, reentering the freezer to few odd glances from customers. They winced at seeing the rubble that they left on the floor, but it gave them an idea.

Sasha peeked back into the freezer, and Bayley gave her a happy wave. “Bye, Sasha! Nice to meet you!”

Sasha rolled her eyes again, but with a smile this time, and shut the door. It was like she, in her own way, was saying it was nice to meet Bayley, too. Bayley made their way back down the hall to their shop, feeling strangely exhilarated and breathless, their grin wider than normal. The store was still empty, the late morning sun filtering through the big front windows and making pools of light on the knotty floor. Bayley let the door swing closed, and, stepping backwards, they ran into a stack of boxes, knocking the top one over. Out rolled a new can of red paint, which is what they had wanted in the first place, and Bayley picked it up and clutched it to their chest. 

If they were being honest, Bayley could barely remember what they were doing ten minutes ago. The only thing they could picture was blue hair and a faint smile. 

❁

After an uneventful day, with only a few tattoos for some drunk girls around 11 PM, Bayley went home and passed out before they could even kiss their dog Flex good night.

They woke up around 9, leaving them forty minutes to quickly feed the dog, put in a load of laundry, shower, get dressed, and shove a snapback over their short, uncombed hair, and then another ten to hop around outside the door trying to find their other Doc, which they eventually found inexplicably under the car. 

The car was a green sedan, beat up and older than God, so Bayley didn’t drive it unless they were picking up groceries or deliveries because it cost more than it was actually worth to fix it or fill it up. What Bayley drove to work was their motorcycle. Well, it was more of a moped, really, but it was big enough to pass as one when it was going a blazing 35 miles per hour down the road, and who wanted to admit they drove a moped, anyway? 

Bayley decided halfway to the shop that they weren’t late enough to skip coffee, so they stopped by Philz, the best café in the whole entire world. The barista that morning, since it was a Wednesday, happened to be Becky. Her dyed bright red hair swished as she darted between machines, and she stopped for a moment at the sound of the bell and greeted her friend cheerfully. “Mornin’, Bayls!”

“You’re way too awake,” said Bayley, but they couldn’t hide a smile.

“I guess that’s what happens when ya sit around inhaling caffeine all mornin’ long,” she joked, coming up behind the counter and smacking her hands on the acrylic. “What can I do ya for? The usual?” 

“Add an extra shot to the Philtered Soul,” Bayley said, remembering Liv groaning to them about a late exam that she had last night. Becky noted this down sagely and wrote Mission Cold Brew on a large cup, which was Bayley’s order. 

In a flash, Bayley remembered Sasha and the mess they had made in her freezer the other day. She hadn’t let them clean it up, but maybe she’d like something, you know, just as an apology. The trouble was, they didn’t know what. “Could I add one more to that order?”

Becky picked up another cup. “Sure, what were ya thinkin’?”

Sasha was a florist. Maybe she would like a flowery coffee, like the Iced Coffee Rosé. But when they thought about it, Bayley realized Sasha already spent all day around flowers. She probably didn’t want to absorb any more of that perfumed smell. Plus, she didn’t seem like the type to like a fancy coffee drink anyway. So maybe something dark and earthy, with a little bit of a sweet side, something Bayley also hoped Sasha had- no, _knew_ Sasha had.

“I’ll have an Ether, please.” One of the darkest coffees Philz had, complex, with notes of cherry that somehow worked.

Bayley handed over the money. Becky went off to make the drinks, and Bayley drummed their fingers on the counter. They hoped Sasha liked the coffee. It felt like a test, which was stupid because how could it be when Sasha didn’t even expect anything from Bayley?

It was a blessing and a curse, Bayley’s need to please. It meant they made friends easily and had plenty of good, close friends and people who loved them, but they also attracted a lot of toxic people, too. Energy vampires, Liv called them. But Bayley somehow knew Sasha wasn’t one of those people.

Becky slid the coffees across the counter to Bayley, and Bayley bid her a good day, promising that they’d go to a wrestling show together over the weekend since they hadn’t been to one in a while.

Out in the parking lot, the morning was beginning to warm up, and a slight breeze threatened to tip Bayley’s hat from their head. Their hunch regarding their best friend was confirmed when their phone let out a ribbit, hailing a text from Liv, which read: _pls coffee now i think i just saw god._

Bayley texted them back one-handedly while trying to secure the coffee tray in Flex’s dog carrier: _if it’s actually god, tell them i have beef with them. what did they look like?_

Liv responded: _literally jesus, but like…. punk rockc???_

Bayley snickered aloud. _r u sure that wasn’t just ruby?_

 _haha, very funny._ A pause. _maybe_.

Bayley smiled, shut their phone off and, with a heave, slammed the lid of the carrier down, holding the three coffees in place.

Liv owned a little crystal shop called Wonderland about three blocks away from Bayley’s Inkwell. They had met when Liv had come in for a tattoo, a tiny moon behind her ear. The two of them had a two-month long, intense relationship. At the end of it, Bayley realized they were living a lie, and Liv realized she was living a lie too, but of the nature that she was actually in love with her best friend Ruby, and the two of them broke up better than Bayley thought possible and had been platonically inseparable ever since. Bayley had even come out as nonbinary to Liv first, about a month after the breakup, and to their surprise, Liv also shyly came out as the same, with she/they pronouns to Bayley’s they/them. They were soulmates, that much was true, but not in the way either of them expected.

Wonderland was one of Bayley’s favorite places. It wasn’t normally Bayley’s scene, the little shops that sold tarot cards and crystals and whatnot, but Liv’s presence always made them feel safe, and Wonderland practically oozed Liv’s energy. The front was an old-fashioned wood facade like you’d see in a rural town, with a hand-painted sign made by Ruby that read Wonderland Spirit Supply. If you looked through the thick glass windows, you would see the walls lined with handmade wooden shelves showcasing wands, witchy apparel, and the like; rotating caddies of stones; racks of beads and pendants; empty bottles and jars of all shapes and sizes, mostly handmade; incense and candles and bundles of herbs, and novelty keychains and stickers that read things like _My Other Car Is A Broom, Witch Please!,_ and _WAP: Witches Against Patriarchy._ There was even a bookcase full of gorgeous hand-stamped leather spellbooks that Liv either made or bought from surrounding artists. Wonderland was Liv’s pride and joy like Bayley’s tattoo shop was theirs.

The bell tinkled merrily as Bayley pushed through the door, coffee in hand. Their eyes first landed on Ruby, who was painting a new section of the mural on the far wall. Whatever drunk ideas that Liv couldn’t get Bayley to paint on their wall went to Ruby to paint on hers. “Looks great so far!”

Ruby startled, but then relaxed when she saw it was just Bayley. “Thanks, man.” She jerked her head over at Liv’s Terrific Tarot table, upon which Liv laid, a mop of pink hair covering their face. Her deep breathing indicated they were fast asleep. Ruby wasn’t too talkative unless she was making a joke, and she was a tattooed, pierced punk much like Bayley themself, which gave her a menacing appearance, but Bayley had never seen a softer look on anyone than when Ruby gazed at Liv.

Bayley felt bad waking Liv up, but she would probably kill them if she knew Bayley had let them sleep instead of working. Bayley touched her shoulder and she shot up with a loud “the goldfish-!” The Six of Wands was stuck to their cheek.

“What the hell could you have possibly been dreaming about?” laughed Bayley, leaning forward to peel the card off their face. Liv ignored them and wordlessly made grabby hands for her coffee.

After three long, indulgent swigs, Liv regained the power of speech. They pointed at the third coffee in the tray. “Who’s that for?”

“Oh.” Bayley flushed. Liv caught it instantly and raised an eyebrow, mouth curving into the closed, curled-lip smile that was so unique to her. “Just a girl who-“

Liv let out a shriek before they could finish. Bayley nearly tripped backwards over their own feet. Ruby didn’t even flinch. “Ohmahgah, you sly dog! Who are they?” 

“I think I liked it better when you couldn’t talk,” joked Bayley, rolling their eyes.

Liv pouted. “I thought we were besties, bestie.” She smacked Bayley on their tattooed bicep. “Tell me who they are-uh!”

“It’s no one!” Bayley defended themself. 

“Then I guess you won’t mind,” Liv said meditatively, picking up Sasha’s drink, “If I just give this delectable coffee to Rue.” Ruby looked up, not really expecting the coffee, mostly just playing along with her partner’s usual antics. “What is this, an Ether? She loves those, don’t you, babe?”

“Mmm, my favorite,” said Ruby in deadpan. 

“Gotcha!” cried Bayley. “Everyone knows Ruby’s favorite is the Iced Mint Mojito.” 

“Rookie mistake, Rue-Rue. I thought I trained you better than this,” Liv said to Ruby. Ruby shrugged, blew them a kiss, and went back to the mushroom she was so painstakingly blending. 

Bayley heaved a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll tell you anyway. God, I hate you.”

“Love you too!” Liv put on her best grace face, placing the back of her hands under their chin and resting her elbows on the table, grinning up at Bayley sweetly. “Sooooooo?”

“It’s for the florist who works on the other side of the Inkwell,” said Bayley. “Her shop is what’s behind The Door. I totally got sheetrock all over her floor when I busted through.”

“No shit!” gasped Liv. “When did you find that out?”

“Yesterday, but I knew that you were in Enviro and then you went home and passed out, and that you would have killed me if I bugged you, no pun intended.”

“That’s true,” mused Liv. “I probably would have skinned you alive and put you on my wall as a tapestry. All is forgiven.”

“That makes me feel wonderful, dude.”

“So you bought her a coffee as an apology for your presence? Aww,” Liv cooed.

“That’s, like, third-date status right there,” remarked Ruby.

Bayley frisbeed the Six of Wands at her and it bapped her in the back of the head. “Chill, I don’t even think she likes me.” 

“Who wouldn’t like you?” said Liv. It was offhanded, but it made Bayley feel soft and mushy. Ruby stood up, coming over to search for more paint. Liv handed her a tube of black acrylic and she accepted it, planting a kiss on top of their head. Liv smiled. Then Ruby stole a sip of Liv’s coffee and she swatted at her.

“The Christian church,” Ruby said. 

Liv pointed over her shoulder at their girlfriend. “You’re pushing it today, ma’am.” Ruby made as if to bite her finger, and Liv shrieked and jerked their hand away. 

Bayley shook their head. “It’s getting too gay in here, I gotta go.” 

“On second thought, maybe the Christian church would like you,” said Ruby.

“Go seduce your lady-love, homophobe.” Liv made a shooing motion. “I have to ask the cards what they think of my girlfriend bullying me like this when all I do is _love her_ -”

“She’s not-” Bayley tried to explain, but Ruby and Liv were on a different subject already.

Ruby rolled her eyes at Liv fondly. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously nice to you, and for what?” Liv asked, wrinkling their nose at their girlfriend, snatching her coffee back when Ruby tried to steal it again.

Bayley waved goodbye and left with their coffees. They adored Liv and Ruby- Liv had an optimistic love for the world around her and a deep, spiritual intelligence despite her outward insanity, Ruby was so dry and funny that she could make you pee your pants laughing with a single word, and they were two of Bayley’s best friends in the world. But the way they were so easy with each other made a phantom ache crop up in Bayley’s chest. Jealousy, not because they had feelings for either of them, but because they wanted that with someone, too. 

Not Sasha. They’d talked for all of five minutes. That would be crazy, wouldn’t it?

Unlike the electronic bell of Philz, the tinkling wind chimes of Wonderland, or the guitar riff of the Inkwell, the door to Sasha’s flower shop opened completely silently.

In contrast, the inside was pure chaos. The tranquil flower shop was full of people, dashing to and fro, grabbing and bundling flowers, even trampling ones that had been knocked to the floor.

In the center of the storm was Sasha. The eye of the storm, technically, but the eye was calm, and to suggest there was anything peaceful about her state would be dead wrong. She was scribbling out orders as fast as she could, as she was barraged from all sides by people calling for her attention.

Bayley found themself shoving through, pushing people back, even though it was a small shop and there weren’t many places to go. Sasha was clearly stressed and Bayley resolved to help her.

They tapped their fingers on the counter. “Hey!” they called out, craning their neck. “Never knew flower shopping could be this hectic!”

Sasha glanced up and smiled, in a harrowed, placating sort of way. It was honestly more of a grimace. “You’re the criminal who broke into my fridge yesterday.”

“Yep, that’s me.” Bayley blushed a little. “I just came to-“

“No offense, but I kind of have a lot going on right now.” Sasha directed her attention to the next customer, a doddering old lady. “Cash or credit-?”

“Do you take check?” the customer asked. Sasha looked like she was about 5 seconds away from slamming her head into the table until she died. Retail.

“Ma’am, she only takes cash or card,” tried Bayley, ever the helper. 

“Oh, let’s see, I- I’m not sure I have that,” said the lady, patting down her pockets. “My son keeps telling me I should get Payfriend-“

“I’ve got it, it’s okay.” Bayley pulled a crumpled twenty from the pocket of their button-down and slid it to Sasha. “Does that cover it?”

Sasha sighed, taking the path of least resistance, and nodded. “Have a good day, ma’am.” 

Customers began pushing in again. Sasha went to pull some bills from the register as the woman walked away with her bouquet, praising Bayley’s name, but Bayley reflexively stopped Sasha’s quest for change with a gentle hand on her wrist. “Keep it.”

“I don’t need your help,” snapped Sasha suddenly. Bayley jerked their hand away in shock. “Can’t you see you’re bothering me? Where do you even keep coming from, and why won’t you just leave?”

“I was only trying to help you out,” stammered Bayley. “And-“

“I’ll get to you in a second!” Sasha screamed at a man who had started bodily pushing people out of the way. Sasha balled her hands in her hair. “You know, I don’t know what pathological need you have to make people like you, Bayley, but now is really not the time.”

Okay, that one stung. Bayley may have been friendly, and selfless to a fault, but they did have limits to being a doormat, and they knew when they weren’t wanted. “Yeah. You know what, I’m going.” Bayley slammed the drinks tray down on the counter, maybe a little bit harder than they needed to, and a drop of coffee splattered on the pristine white counter. “That’s for you. It’s gotten super clear that you don’t like me and you never will, so, sorry for wasting your time.” Bayley bit their lip, more sad than angry, then took their own coffee and turned and shoved their way through the crowd.

If it had been a little quieter, a little less busy, they might have heard the “Bayley, wait-“ that Sasha called out after them, immediately regretting lashing out at the kind tattoo artist. But the door opened and shut, and all there was to prove that Bayley had ever been there in the first place was an Ether from Philz Coffee.

The fact that they had somehow gotten Sasha’s favorite drink right made her feel impossibly worse.

❁

Bayley unlocked the door to their shop and flipped on the lights. It was 10:15 and the shop would officially open at 10:30. They were caught between beginning to get the store ready and processing what had just happened, and they stood silently in the doorway for a second, before setting their phone and coffee on the desk and hanging their messenger bag and jacket on the hook behind the desk.

The Inkwell was a small shop. There was an area near the front door with Bayley’s desk and two comfortable chairs with a little table in between them for people waiting on an appointment. On top of the table was a pile of magazines and beneath it was a mini fridge with a sign on it that said “help yourself :)”. One of Bayley’s daily jobs was to restock it from a larger fridge in the back, and that was what they moved to do first, putting a few candy bars in the fridge door compartment and stacking in the main section some water bottles and various cans of soda.

Bayley began to seethe as they worked, wiping down the two big leather tattoo chairs and all of the other flat surfaces, and unpacking and organizing piercing needles. They had just been trying to help out, to make friends, and Sasha had so rudely pushed them away.

 _She was busy_ , Bayley rationalized as they straightened the framed pictures of tattoos on the wall, set out the book of tattoo designs on the desk. Wasn’t there days where Bayley themself had had a stressful time at work and snapped at Ruby or Becky making a joke or Liv just trying to help?

 _But_ , they argued to themself, _I always say sorry afterwards, and Sasha didn’t_. And did Sasha even like them in the first place? They turned on the light in the rotating case of piercings. 

Bayley felt a little bit of sorrow for what would never be. It would have been so cool to have a friend whose store connected to theirs, like a secret that only they shared. Plus, they considered themself pretty awesome. Sasha would just have to miss out on all that. They had other friends. Liv and Ruby and Becky were all amazing people that they loved, and they had friends besides them, too. But something about Sasha felt different. Bayley thought they had connected, at least a little, but obviously Sasha didn’t feel the same.

As if summoned, their phone lit up with a text from Liv. Bayley paused in their cleaning to check it. _any hot bi action happening over there yet?_

 _sadly none, and none will ever happen._ Bayley loved Liv, but they didn’t feel like explaining everything that had happened to them.

To her credit, Liv didn’t pry. _sorry, bub._ Another text came a second later _. lunch?_

Bayley smiled. _for sure, dude._

 _cool i’ll bring chinese. and ruby._

_obviously :)._

Bayley plugged their phone into the big speaker, and one of their favorite Paramore songs began to play. They smiled, took a sip of their coffee, and sat down at their desk. Pushing thoughts of Sasha and potstickers aside, they had some budgeting that was calling their name. They didn’t have any appointments until 2, so it was shaping up to be a slow morning, and if Bayley sat around and thought too much, they would start to spiral.

About half an hour later, the familiar guitar riff of the door hailed Bayley’s first walk-in customer of the day. Bayley glanced up.

Sasha.

She stood in the doorway, scuffing one heeled boot against the boards. Her blue hair was now up in a ponytail, and she twisted her hands together around the half-empty Philz Coffee cup to the point of her knuckles flaring white.

Bayley’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t think people normally go visit the people that bother them.”

“I know.” Sasha remained there, staring nervously at Bayley like she couldn’t quite find the words to what she wanted to say.

Bayley pushed their budget sheet to the side in frustration. Nothing was adding up, on paper or in real life. “So what do you want from me?”

“I want you to hear me out.” Sasha tilted her head in a way that made Bayley’s heart twist, but they banished it. They were not about to be a doormat. They had trouble with that in the past and they were getting way better at not letting people take advantage of them.

“Why should I do that?” Bayley said, trying to keep their tone level. “It’s a genuine question. You’ve been awful to me.”

“I know,” said Sasha.

“I brought you coffee and you yelled at me.”

“I know,” Sasha said again, more desperately.

“So no, I don’t think I’ll hear you out.” Bayley took a sip of their drink, feeling oddly proud of themself. For someone who couldn’t say no, being a little mean was a small victory. 

Sasha set the cup on the counter and glanced around at the pictures of body art on the walls apprehensively. “What if…. what if I was getting a tattoo?” she asked.

Bayley looked back up in disbelief. “A tattoo? You?”

“You don’t know me that well, why is that so hard to believe?” challenged Sasha. “Just because I’m a florist doesn’t mean I can’t be hardcore.”

Bayley wavered for a moment. On one hand, thus far Sasha hadn’t made any effort towards Bayley whatsoever (more like the opposite) and that was working against her big-time, no matter how pretty she was. On the other hand, being willing to get a permanent mark on her body just to talk to Bayley was pretty convincing proof that Sasha’s apology would be genuine. Plus, money, and it would be a little funny watching Sasha squirm as she tried to pick a spontaneous tattoo. And, besides, Bayley would never consider anyone undeserving of their time. Everyone was an equal to them, and maybe it would do them well to hear Sasha out… it seemed the pros outweighed the cons.

“Fine,” Bayley relented. “Since I don’t have any appointments right now. Pick a chair, any chair.” Sasha smiled as Bayley stood to go get their gloves and tattoo kit from the autoclave. She had a beautiful smile, wide and infectious, not that Bayley noticed or cared.

They came back to find Sasha in the chair, sticking her arm out in front of her, eyes squinched shut. “Make it quick, doctor.”

Bayley let out a small laugh. “First of all-“ they took her arm and lowered it to the padded side of the chair. A jolt of electricity went through Bayley’s fingers in spite of themself. “You don’t need to do that. Your arm will get tired and if you drop it or twitch around it’ll mess me up. Second of all, you need to tell me what you actually want on there.” They flipped on the overhead light.

Sasha’s eyes opened and darted around the room. Her gaze landed on a novelty mug that held pens on Bayley’s desk, purchased for them by Liv. It read “World’s Okayest Boss”. It was born of an inside joke between them that Liv was at the shop so much helping out that Bayley should put them on payroll. 

“Boss,” Sasha blurted out.

“Boss?” asked Bayley incredulously. “Like, hashtag girlboss?”

“It’s a childhood nickname,” argued Sasha. 

“If you insist.” Bayley picked up the book and showed her a few fonts, and Sasha pointed one out and showed them where she wanted it. “Okay, you asked to talk, so talk.” Bayley slipped their magnifying glasses on, cleaned Sasha’s wrist gently with an alcohol wipe, and got to work.

“I want to start out by saying I’m really sorry. I wanted to come over earlier, right after you left, honestly, but the store just now cleared out so I took an early lunch.” Sasha let out a hiss as Bayley’s tattoo gun met her skin. “Oh, that feels weird. Ughhh.”

“Kinda like tiny bee stings, right?” said Bayley, laying the groundwork for the capital B.

Sasha nodded. “It hurts less than I thought it would, though.”

“I hear that pretty often.”

Sasha went silent for a moment. She seemed like she was deep in thought. Finally she said, “I don’t trust easily.” Bayley continued working on the tattoo, focusing on her warm skin beneath their gloved fingers. “You just appeared, all smiles and kindness, and I wasn’t sure what to do. When people are nice to me, I don’t trust it. Too many people have betrayed me that way, and I didn’t know if you were different or not. My instincts told me you were, but I ignored them because I was scared.”

“And how do you know that I’m different?” said Bayley in a measured tone, trying not to give away the soft feelings that bubbled up in their stomach. They paused for a moment to wipe excess ink away, still never making eye contact.

“You really saw me,” said Sasha thoughtfully. She winced at the touch of the needle, starting on the first S. “Ouch. I don’t know how, but we have a connection. Whether it be the fact our stores are forever stuck together, or that you somehow guessed my coffee order after talking to me for five minutes like you stared into my soul. Fate is stupid, and I don’t believe in it, but this is too weird and coincidental to ignore. I didn’t want to throw that connection away because I was afraid of getting hurt. Life is a constant series of getting hurt and healing from it. It would be idiotic of me to miss out on life because I’m worrying about something inevitable.”

It was like she was reaching into Bayley’s head and pulling out everything they were thinking, everything they wanted to hear. They relegated themself to saying, “Deep.”

“So, yeah, that’s why I wasn’t very friendly to you at first, but the way I acted today was just… inexcusable. I was all stressed out and I took that out on you, and for that, I’m really, really sorry.” Sasha tried for a hesitant smile. Bayley could see the uncertain flash of teeth in her peripheral vision, but kept focus on her arm. “Could you maybe give me one more chance? You seem like a pretty great person. Someone I’d really like to know, if you’d let me.”

Bayley stopped their gun for a moment, slowly removing their foot from the pedal, and finally met her eyes. What they found there was nothing but regret and hopefulness. And oddly enough, they trusted that. See, while Bayley tended to err on the side of faith, they were also a pretty good judge of character. Sasha didn’t seem like a bad person. A little prickly, sure, sarcastic, guarded, but definitely not bad.

Finally they simply said, “Okay.”

Sasha’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Huh?”

“Okay,” Bayley repeated, the single word like a sigh of relief. “Another chance.” 

Sasha smiled. “Cool. And if I make one wrong move, you have full permission to cover up that door and never think about me again.”

 _Somehow I don’t think that’s possible_ , thought Bayley. Instead they said, “Aye aye, Boss.”

Sasha let out a laugh, a real one. It was infectious, and Bayley couldn’t help but smile at her as they started up their tattoo gun again. Her laugh turned into a comical, exaggerated wince, which made Bayley snort.

It only took them a few minutes to finish up. Bayley carefully cleaned her wrist, and then Sasha had “Boss.” written on her arm for all time, surrounded by a bright halo of red.

“I… like it,” said Sasha, sounding amazed.

“Really? You’re happy with it?” said Bayley. “Damn, I’m good!” They set down their gun and gave themself a high five. Sasha giggled. “Here.” Bayley brushed some tattoo goo on the word and carefully taped a pad of gauze over it. Sasha’s eyes followed them intently, and Bayley couldn’t stop the back of their neck and ears from burning hot as their fingers grazed Sasha’s skin. “Um.” Bayley hurriedly pulled away and busied themself with cleaning up the workspace. A needle slipped from their shaky fingers and clattered on the floor, and Sasha watched them with something between amusement and confusion. _Get it together, Martinez!_ “Oh, darn. Sorry. You can just meet me up at the desk.”

“Alright,” said Sasha. “How much do I owe you?” she called after them as they bustled around.

They gave up on cleaning and went up to the counter. Sasha seemed much more relaxed now, even smiling a little, far cry from how she had looked when she first walked in. Bayley surveyed her face. What was that feeling? “The tat’s on me,” they decided. 

Sasha waved them off, digging in her pocket. “No, I couldn’t let you do that.”

“Oh, come on, dude! Half price then?” offered Bayley.

“Seriously. It’s all good. How much would it be at full price?”

“Tattoo that small? 75 bucks or so.”

Sasha looked startled. “On second thought, I think half price is good. Damn. You’re making bank here.” Bayley grinned and opened their mouth. “No, no, don’t even. I get Banks-related jokes every day of my life.”

Bayley held up their hands in surrender. “No name puns. Noted.”

Sasha grimaced. “I hope I didn’t sound too mean there. I can be kinda rude sometimes.” She pushed two crumpled 20s across the counter, and Bayley accepted them. “You probably know that by now.”

Bayley shrugged. “Everyone has bad days. Maybe next time, I could make yours better.”

“You did,” said Sasha honestly. “I might have yelled at you, but the coffee was exactly what I needed. I downed that thing in one gulp.” She looked down, a little shyly. “Maybe next time come a little earlier and we can drink them together, okay?”

Bayley wondered briefly what she meant by that. “I mean, sure, I stop by coffee every day, I can bring you some.” 

Sasha gave no indication of disappointment, and Bayley brushed off the silly idea that she had any ulterior motive. 

All of a sudden, a guitar riff rang out and Liv breezed through the door, followed by Ruby, who was carrying takeout bags. “Howdy howdy-” They stopped so fast there was almost an audible screech. “Hang on, who’s this?”

“Hi,” said Sasha, a note of confusion in her voice. “I could say the same of you?”

“I,” said Liv, striking a dramatic pose, hand on hip, “am Liv Morgan, Bayley’s bestest best friend ever, and I have food! That’s two points for me. Tally yours up.”

Sasha shrugged ruefully, a slight smile on her lips. “I mean, I can’t beat food.” She held out a hand. “Sasha. I run the flower shop around the corner.”

“Ohhh… the florist.” Liv shot a questioning glance at Bayley.

“We’re all good,” they told her. “Down, girl.”

“No to both of those things.” But Liv relented and shook Sasha’s hand. Ruby’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Liv seemed to be having a one-sided stare-off with Sasha. They were nothing if not extremely protective of Bayley.

Ruby held up the Chinese bag tantalizingly. “Sustenance?”

“Sustenance,” Bayley agreed, stepping in the middle of Sasha and Liv’s whatever-it-was and rescuing their potstickers.

Liv snapped out of it. She took the other of the two bags from Ruby and plopped herself down on one of the armchairs in the waiting area, and began to dig in the bag. Ruby squished herself in next to her partner on the same chair, and Bayley sat at their desk, pushing aside the budget sheets and their finance binder.

“I love potstickers,” Sasha commented, leaning against the counter and watching Bayley and their friends get comfortable. Bayley stabbed one with a chopstick and presented it to her. “Oh! Um-“ Sasha reached out to take it, then thought better of getting her hands dirty and awkwardly leaned down to bite it off the stick. Bayley felt all the warmth in their body rush to their hands, and Liv and Ruby exchanged a meaningful, gay glance. Bayley would have told them to pipe down, except the two of them hadn’t said anything, and they didn’t want to interrupt Sasha, chewing her potsticker with her eyes closed in apparent bliss.

“I got an extra order,” said Liv, seemingly as a peace offering. 

Sasha looked like she had been handed an Oscar when Liv passed the small takeout box over to her. Bayley wondered if Sasha had many friends. They didn’t know why she wouldn’t, since she seemed like a sweet person, if guarded at first and maybe a little shy. But maybe it was just the effect of being around Liv. Liv had a propensity for making everyone around them feel special.

The four of them fell into comfortable conversation with lulls of silence and chewing in between. Bayley, for the first time in a while, felt completely at ease in their friend group. As they’d mentioned before, they loved Liv and Ruby, but the two of them had this special bond, and as much as they tried to make Bayley feel included, Bayley always felt like a third wheel. But with Sasha there, nervous, but still smiling as if just happy to be included, it felt like Bayley had their own person to share it all with, instead of just tagging along. 

The thought made Bayley smile inwardly.

“A hot dog is not a fucking sandwich, I’m literally breaking up with you.” Liv’s voice broke Bayley out of their thoughts. 

“Noooo,” said Ruby in deadpan. 

“Now why do you think a hotdog is a sandwich, Ruby?” said Bayley, trying to get back into the conversation and mediate at the same time.

“Two sides of bread with a piece of meat in the middle.” Ruby shrugged. “Sandwich.”

“Oh, you gorgeous idiot.” Liv shook her head. “Hot dog buns are connected. That makes them ONE BREAD. Bit of a bimbo, this broad.”

“You’re one to talk,” muttered Ruby. Liv made as if to whap her, but Ruby dodged just in time.

“Actually.” Every head turned towards Sasha, and she blushed slightly at the sudden attention. “Wouldn’t a hot dog be more of a taco?”

Liv, Ruby, and Bayley all considered this solemnly for a few moments. 

“I think I’ll keep you,” Liv decided.

“Keep me?” laughed Sasha.

“They said the first thing to me after our first date,” Bayley said, remembering. They thought they remembered Liv saying it to Ruby at some point, too. Liv adopted people. Once she settled on keeping you, she’d never go anywhere.

“Oh- are you two?” Sasha gestured between Liv and Bayley, eyes widening. “I’m so sorry, I thought that-“

“No!” exclaimed Liv and Bayley at the same time. Liv let out a long, drawn out noise of disgust, which Bayley thought was slightly uncalled for.

“We broke up a long time ago. They’re dating.” Bayley indicated Liv and Ruby, tangled together on their chair so closely it was impossible to tell who owned which limb, despite Liv being “mad” at Ruby. “I feel like that should be slightly obvious.”

“It kind of was. I don’t know, I just didn’t want to assume you weren’t all dating each other or something like that,” explained Sasha.

“Bayley could never pull me in a million years,” Ruby said matter-of-factly. Bayley flung a chopstick at her, and it missed miserably and clattered to the floor. Ruby was unfazed. Being Liv’s girlfriend, she was probably used to random things flying around. Sasha watched all this happen with an air of mild confusion and amusement.

“Rue and I are between breakups,” Liv said, then pretended to bite Ruby’s face. Ruby made a noise that sounded like “aht!”.

“Most people would just say dating,” Bayley said. “You know, as in, _in a happy relationship_?”

“Boring. I prefer to say we’re moving closer to divorce by the day,” said Ruby. Liv high-fived her.

“And they’re single,” Liv said, pointing back at Bayley.

“True,” agreed Bayley.

“Like, so single. Extremely single. Forever alone. So single that-“

“Okay, enough,” Bayley cut her off.

Sasha snickered at that, plucking another potsticker from her box. “Good to know, I guess?” She seemed to be taking all this in stride. Bayley glanced at her to offer her a smile and found Sasha already looking at her. “Thanks,” she said.

“For what?” asked Bayley.

“Just… everything.” Sasha held up her wrist covered in gauze, then her potstickers, then indicated the half empty coffee cup, then finally gestured around at the little group they’d made, the camaraderie. “And for forgiving me. You didn’t have to do it, but I’m really glad you did.”

Bayley nodded, pondering this. Ruby made a derisive comment in the background, Liv let out a shriek of laughter, and Good Charlotte rocked softly from the speakers. Finally they said, “I have an idea.”

Sasha tilted her head to the side. “What’s that?”

“After today, we don’t mention it.” Bayley flicked their hand like they were shaking off water. “Clean slate. I don’t want you to feel like you owe anything to me.”

Sasha seemed to think about this for a second. “Okay. That sounds good to me. As long as you’re fine with it?”

“Definitely.” Bayley extended a hand with maximum flair. “Oh hey there, you work at the flower shop, right? I’m Bayley.”

Sasha turned in a circle and dramatically extended her hand. Bayley laughed. “Hey, I sure do. Sasha.” They shook hands, and Sasha did that odd thing that she’d done a couple times- she smiled wide, shyly, then seemed to regain consciousness and reign it back in. Bayley couldn’t quite understand it.

Bayley reached out and touched her shoulder, like a question. Sasha didn’t flinch away, which seemed like a good sign. “What do you think? Coffee tomorrow?” And every day after that, they hoped.

“Sure, but in the spirit of not owing each other anything, I’m gonna pay you back.”

Bayley laughed at that. “No way, dude! Nice try.”

Sasha groaned. “I think you might be the death of me, Bayley Last Name I Don’t Know.”

Bayley’s brain suddenly produced a thought with singular clarity, but before they could process it, Liv leaped to their feet with a “Fucking shit!”, sending Ruby halfway off the chair.

“I gotta get home!” She grabbed their takeout bags. Home, in that case, must have meant Wonderland. “My lunch was over ten minutes ago.” 

Ruby picked herself up. “Seems like we have to jam, then. You two okay to be alone?”

“Yes, _Mom_.” Bayley rolled their eyes.

“That’s a weird question to ask someone, Rue,” said Liv.

“Liv, I hate to say this, but I think this might be a pot/kettle situation,” said Bayley, apologetically.

“You don’t hate to say it.” Liv narrowed her eyes at Bayley. “You _love_ to antagonize me. You bitch, gender neutral.” 

“From what I’ve seen, I think that might be accurate,” Sasha cut in.

“Which part?” asked Bayley.

“Yes.”

“Was it not you who asked me if I whitened my teeth the other day?” Ruby said. “Or if you could take candy in a carry-on bag?”

“One, I needed recommendations, and two, that’s a valid-as-hell question,” pouted Liv. Ruby assured them that it was, giving her a kiss that caused Bayley to have to make a gagging noise on principal. “I love you and only you. The rest? Heathens,” huffed Liv. “Homophobic heathens, all of you.” They held their head high and stalked out of the tattoo shop, Ruby in tow.

“Is she…. mad?” Sasha wondered aloud.

“No. They’ll be texting me probably-“ Bayley’s phone ribbited over the OK Go song playing in the background. “Yep, there it is.”

 _love u miss u already!_ The text read.

“Those two sure are… what’s the word?” said Sasha.

“Characters?”

“Yep, that’s it.” Sasha and Bayley looked at each other and burst into laughter. After a moment, Sasha started to gather her things. “I think I’m gonna go, too. Lots of people need flowers and I shouldn’t keep them hanging.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Bayley smiled at her. “See you around, Boss?”

Sasha touched the gauze on her wrist, almost subconsciously. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but didn’t. Bayley didn’t push her. “Yeah. Yeah, for sure.”

Bayley watched as she left, then collapsed into their chair. Emotions swirled through them, happy and content, the way they always felt after a good meal and some of Liv and Ruby’s jokes- but above all, there was a hollow, longing feeling. Bayley realized that it was because they enjoyed spending time with Sasha, so much so that they already missed her somehow. They couldn’t wait to bring her coffee the next day. They wondered if she liked dogs, what her favorite color was, if she had any siblings, where she went to college, if she went to college at all. They wanted more. They wanted to ask her things. They should have asked.

The opening strums and tap-tap drumbeats of ‘Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own’ by U2 played through the speakers, and Bayley hummed along. 

Bayley didn’t know what would happen, but they could start with asking, with learning, with coffee and conversation, and they’d go from there.

A clean slate.

**Author's Note:**

> direct all questions comments and concerns to rulivthinker on twitter, transmazikeen on tumblr, or evechloes on instagram. comments also appreciated!
> 
> check my pinned tweet on twitter for information about fanfic commissions :)


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